Butterfly Moment
by TheVillainofTheStory
Summary: Yami finds out that Yugi and Kaiba are apparently dating. He starts feeling hurt and weird, so he pulls away from his hikari. What he hasn't realized is that Yugi is actually dating him. Puzzleshipping.


Hi! There are few things that I feel obligated to inform you all of before you commence reading (mostly because I really like over explaining things).  
>Summary: Yami and Yugi have been dating for a few years. Unfortunately for our adorable hikari, Yami doesn't know. As Yugi and Seto grow closer, Yami begins to feel jealous and assumes they are dating. Hilarity insues. Despite the depressing summary, I assure you that this does belong in the humor category.<br>This is yaoi, meaning boyxboy. Not particularly explicit or hard core, but it is a bit more than fluff. YamixYugi, puzzleshipping, or whatever you want to call it. Implied MalikxMarik and RyouxBakura. Implied domYugi, because there's not enough of that :)  
><em>Italics are mind speech, unless used for syntax purposes. I trust you all to be able to tell the difference.<em>  
>Umm, for those of you who care about silly things like 'canon' and 'timeline', I'm working with the assumption that after the Ceremonial Duel (after which Yami chose to stay and was given his own body) the gang was required to complete the several years of school that they had missed.<br>The Title: My mother taught elementary kids for a decade. Whenever a student wasn't paying attention, didn't notice something, or was just unaware of what was going on, rather than calling him/her a dumbass (as I would have done), my mom would say that the student was having a Butterfly Moment. Yami is in the midst of a gargantuan Butterfly Moment.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff. But I would like to own Kaiba, if anyone wants to get me a present...<p>

-  
>School had never been one of Yami's favorite ways to spend the day. What self respecting five thousand year old spirit gave a flying fart in space about things like calculus and chemistry? None, in his opinion, and as a pharaoh (well, former pharaoh) his opinion was the only one that mattered. Sure, he assumed that the teachers meant well when they said he had to 'make something of himself', but he already knew what he was doing with his life. Card games were the only thing Yami had to worry about in his future, and since they didn't teach classes about Duel Monsters in Domino High, the teachers really had no influence on his future or, he thought stubbornly with a slight pout, his present.<p>

_Yami,_ Yugi's warning voice flitted into his mind like a warm breeze, _Pay attention. The final exam is on Friday! If you pass, you get to spend all summer playing card games. Otherwise, you'll be in summer school!_

_Yes aibou,_ the former spirit replied dutifully with a chuckle. Perhaps his earlier assessment that there was only one opinion in his universe was incorrect; Yugi, his best friend, his hikari, his reason to remain in the present, held sway over everything that Yami did and thought. Not that he would ever admit it to their friends, but the pharaoh liked the amount of control Yugi had over him. There was nothing Yugi could ask of him that he would not do.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Yami (and he would know, having been trapped in the puzzle for so long), the bell rang. School was over for the day, meaning it was time for card games, friends, and various shenanigans. Gathering his things into a messy pile, Yami shoved his papers into his messenger bag and waited for Yugi. Yugi, preferring to be more orderly with his clean up, always took longer than his darkness.

"You know," Yami mused as he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and placed his chin atop Yugi's head, "If you'd let me help, we'd get out of here sooner."

Yugi leaned back in the embrace and gave Yami such a dubious look that the former spirit had to chuckle. "I know what your idea of packing up is, Yami, and I'm not impressed. I'd rather be the last one out and know what's in my bag than end up like you and the tuna fish sandwich incident."

Yami narrowed his eyes at the boy in his arms, who smiled up innocently. "We don't talk about the tuna fish sandwich debacle," he reminded his light sternly, but he didn't really mean it. Yugi was only teasing him, and since it was Yugi, that was okay.

"Hey! If you two are done cuddlin', we got stuff to do!" Joey called from the door. His grin was catching; Yugi and Yami dashed out of the room after their blond friend laughing for no reason other than the fact that they were young and alive.

"We weren't cuddling, Joey," Yami informed him as they headed outside to meet up with the rest of the gang. Honestly, could the blond get any more ridiculous? Yami and Yugi were two halves of the same soul. Of course Yami was going to touch his hikari. That was just how they interacted.

Joey gave Yugi a concerned look, but simply Yugi shook his head with a fond smile. Yami didn't quite understand what message had passed between his two best friends, but it didn't trouble him. If it was something important, Yugi would have told him.

"Hey guys," Tristan greeted as the trio approached the tree where they met everyday after school. Tea, Tristan, Mai, Kaiba, Ryou, and Bakura were already there. After the ceremonial duel and without the stress of saving the world with card games, everyone had just decided to get along. They were too tired after so many years of constant danger and adventure to bother hating each other anymore. Tea liked to think that her friendship speeches had a hand in it all, and no one bothered to shut her up (A/N: I'm not a Tea fan [*cough* I hate her *cough*], and I'm trying **really** hard not to bash her too much, but I make no promises).

"So what are we doin' today?" Joey asked as he flopped gracelessly on the ground.

"You, Mr. Wheeler, owe me dinner," Mai informed her boyfriend with a haughty finger pointed directly at him.

With an easy grin, Joey said, "Sure thing, princess." Mai pretended to turn away with a self satisfied yet pouty expression, but her eyes were sparkling. Joey's pet name for her embodied all she had ever wanted in life: a knight in shining armor who loved her unconditionally, a gooey love story, and a happily ever after. Yami knew how happy they were, and how ecstatic Yugi was for them, so he couldn't feel anything less than joy for the couple.

"I promised Serenity we'd get manicures at four," Tea said, glancing at her watch. "I gotta go if I'm going to be on time. See you later guys!" With a wave, Tea ran off in the direction of her car.

Yami looked down at his sweet little Yugi, who was leaning on him comfortably. Before he could ask, verbally or through their link, Yugi said, "Mokuba wants me to come over and play videogames with him. I guess that means it's me and you, Seto."

Yugi was the only one (other than Mokuba) who was allowed to call Kaiba by his first name. Kaiba insisted that it was because of Yugi's performance in the ceremonial duel, but Yami had another theory. It was Kaiba's way of keeping his rival (Yami, who had defeated and humiliated him on too many occasions to count) and the sweet little boy he had never really known (Yugi) separate. Yami had been a bit… uncomfortable with Yugi calling Kaiba by his given name at first. But Yugi had assured him that it was fine, and that Kaiba and Mokuba had insisted. Yami trusted Yugi completely.

"Yami, do you want to come?" Yugi asked, looking up into his friend's crimson eyes. "I'm sure Mokuba wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, but I might," Kaiba muttered, simply for the joy of being difficult. The former pharaoh ignored him.

Yami smiled down at the angel leaning on him and wrapped his arms around him tightly. "No, I think I'll go home and study for that 'final' thing that you are so worried about me passing. It's my night to close up the shop any way," he reminded Yugi.

"All right," Yugi said dubiously, "If you say so. I'll have my cell phone, so call me if you need anything. And whatever you do-"

"Don't touch the microwave," the entire group chorused with laughter. Yami scowled at them all, individually and collectively. Yami had a bad history with microwaves. Since he had regained a body, he had destroyed four of them for various reasons.

"Well, I have nothing to do today," Tristan admitted. Turning to Bakura and Ryou, he asked, "What about you two?"

"Absolutely nothing," Bakura grumbled. The pharaoh and the tomb robber had a tentative truce. They weren't "enemies" any more so much as they were "bad friends".

Tristan nodded. "Then it's settled," he declared, wrapping one arm around Ryou and his other around Bakura. "We're going with Yami to the Game Shop!"

Without so much as a good bye, Kaiba turned and walked off. "Come on, Yugi. The limo is waiting," the CEO called over his shoulder. It irked Yami how Kaiba expected Yugi to follow him blindly and immediately, just like Mokuba did.

Feeling his darker half's irritation through their bond, Yugi turned around in Yami's arms. _It's okay, Yami. I don't really mind,_ he assured the pharaoh as he wrapped his arms around Yami's neck. _I promise._

_But it __**should**__ bother you,_ Yami insisted darkly. _Being ordered around like a slave or a dog is demeaning. It certainly bothers __**me**__._

Yugi smiled indulgently up at Yami and nuzzled into his chest. Yami found arguing with his hikari difficult enough normally, but when Yugi decided to start being cute Yami knew it was time to give up.

_You always have my best interest at heart, Yami,_ Yugi said with a laugh.

_Of course I do, aibou. You are my hikari, the other half of my soul. I exist to protect you,_ Yami reminded him patiently. _From physical danger as well as from arrogant billionaires._

"Oh, Yami," Yugi chuckled in exasperation. Stepping away from Yami, he jogged to catch up with Kaiba.

Yami watched him go with a growing sense of some feeling that he did not like (mostly because he couldn't recognize it). He decided, for lack of a better term, to call it foreboding.

-  
>"Define 'coefficient of friction'" Tristan ordered, stuffing another handful of potato chips into his mouth. Deciding to take his friend's promise to Yugi seriously, Tristan was quizzing Yami so that he was prepared for the physics final on Friday.<p>

"The coefficient of friction is a number which represents the friction between two surfaces. Between two equal surfaces, the coefficient of friction will be the same. In most physics problems, it is assumed that there is no friction. I have no intentions of worrying about it unless the problem specifies. The coefficient of friction, symbolized by the Greek letter mu, is equal to the maximum frictional force, or 'F', divided by the normal force," Yami rattled off, paying more attention to the doodles in his notebook than to his friend. Honestly. Yugi had nothing to worry about; the former pharaoh was going to ace the test. And if not, he could always discreetly pull the answers out of his hikari's mind.

Tristan grinned at Yami, slapping him on the back with a hand covered in the powder of cheese curls. "I think you'll be fine, dude," he assured him.

Yami was about to ask if pulling the answers out of the mind of the other half of his soul was considered cheating, but a sudden crash from the living room had both teens up and running. On the floor, on his back, half under the coffee table, sprawled Bakura. He was glaring up as his hikari, who sat on the couch looking close to tears.

"What are you two doing in here?" Tristan demanded. He hauled Bakura to his feet, only to have him tackled to the ground again by his tearful Ryou.

Bakura grunted and pulled them both up into a sitting position with Ryou on his lap. Ducking his head under his yami's chin, Ryou explained, "Bakura was tickling me. I kept begging for him to stop, but he wouldn't. I couldn't breathe, so I sort of…um…"

"The little bastard kicked me in the stomach," Bakura growled. A fresh round of tears welled out of Ryou. Yami assumed that the two traded a few brief words through their link, because Ryou suddenly stopped crying and smiled up at his yami.

"You should treat your hikari better," Yami said with a scowl at Bakura. Ryou was sensitive, even more so than Yugi. What he had done to deserve a sadist like Bakura, Yami would never know.

"Oh, like you treat yours?" Bakura retorted with a smirk.

Yami flopped down on the couch and Tristan sat in the arm chair. "I treat my hikari better than either you or Marik," Yami declared proudly. Grabbing the remote, he began flipping idly through the television channels. "Yugi and I have a very healthy relationship."

"But you don't have a relationship with him, do you Yami?" Bakura asked deviously.

"Kura, don't!" Ryou pleaded, but the damage had been done.

Yami had no idea what the tomb robber meant. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, throwing the remote on the sofa. The thud it made was not nearly as satisfying as he had hoped. "Of course we do. Yugi is my hikari; that's our relationship. What other kind of relationship could we have?" he asked rhetorically.

"Oh, I don't know," Bakura mused. There was a devilish glint in his eyes that no one in the room trusted. "Perhaps one more like this?"

The white haired male swooped down like a hawk, capturing the lips of his hikari. Ryou yelped, trying to push his dominant half back. Having successfully made his point, Bakura let Ryou go.

"Damn it Bakura!" Tristan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes in vexation. "Yugi wanted him to figure it out on his own!"

Yami was very lost, and getting very angry. "Yugi wanted me to figure out what on my own?" he demanded, glaring between the three friends assembled in his living room. "That's he's in a relationship?"

Suddenly, several things that had been bothering Yami fell into place. Kaiba insisting that Yugi call him by his first name. The amount of time Yugi spent over at Kaiba's mansion, supposedly with Mokuba. How he always made sure that Kaiba was there before the group did anything. Making sure that Kaiba sat near him at lunch. That one time that Kaiba had been sick and Yugi went to visit. Most of these instances, Yami noted with growing displeasure, happened when he wasn't present.

"Oh Ra," Yami exclaimed quietly. Looking up at Bakura and Tristan, he asked in a pained whisper, "Yugi is dating Kaiba, isn't he?"

There was a moment of silence before Bakura collapsed in a heap of derisive laughter. Tristan slapped his forehead with the heel of his palm. Yami decided to take their responses as a 'yes'.

As softly and gently as he could, Yami slipped into Yugi's mind. The last thing he needed was Yugi noticing that he was there; he had enough practice at observing Yugi through the link that he was reasonably certain that he wouldn't be noticed, but it never hurt to be careful.

Yami found himself in what he assumed was a bathroom of the Kaiba Mansion. He doubted that it was the only bathroom, but it was probably the largest. It was certainly the largest that Yami had ever seen; it was practically big enough to play baseball in. The tiles were dark blue and the walls painted only a few shades lighter. The counters and the walk in shower looked like they were made of lapis lazuli slabs. Even the bath tub-more accurately a small swimming pool-was white marble. The faucets were silver and looked like miniature dragons. Blue eyes white dragons, in Yami's opinion, and he had seen them in battle more than any other dualist (besides their owner).

Yugi was seated on the counter near the sink, sniffling. At his side, riffling through a cabinet was Kaiba. Yami almost lost his concentration on keeping hidden when he saw that Yugi was hurt.

"Seto, I swear that it's not that bad," Yugi promised with a sniffle. He was lying, trying to belittle his injury. Yami knew that because Yugi always tried to down play the severity of any wound he got. If Kaiba believed him, he was more of a fool than Yami had originally thought.

"It's severe enough that you're crying," Kaiba remarked dryly. The billionaire's tone shocked the former pharaoh. Kaiba sounded flustered, amused, and concerned. It made him almost…human. Yami wasn't sure he wanted to live in a world where Seto Kaiba acted like a normal human being.

Kaiba set to work bandaging Yugi's hand. Apparently Mokuba and Yugi had decided to attempt baking cookies. Yugi forgot an oven mitt when he went to grab the hot cookie sheet out of the oven. As he threw the sheet in shock, Yugi fell towards the counter. Scrambling to catch his balance, he grabbed at the counter top. Some how, Yugi managed to cut himself on the metal spatula they had been using to pick up the cookies. Yami shook his head; if it had happened to anyone but Yugi, the pharaoh would have found the entire situation hilarious. As it was, with Yugi hiding his relationship with Kaiba, Yami was just distressed.

After bandaging the burn and cut and putting away the gauze and antiseptic, Kaiba hopped up on the counter next to Yugi. They looked comical sitting there together, the King of Games and his rival. Yugi, short and adorable, swung his legs back and forth with the unconscious and restless energy of a child. Kaiba perched lightly next to him, his long legs almost touching the blue tiled floor.

Yugi leaned closer so that Kaiba could wrap his arm around his slight, shaking figure. That was enough for Yami, who had still been holding on to the slight hope that Tristan and Bakura had been lying to him, to shrivel up and die inside. If he was a smart man he would have left. As it was, the pharaoh was a bit of a sadist.

"Are you okay?" Kaiba murmured, rubbing Yugi's arm gently.

"I'm fine," Yugi promised, smiling up at the icy eyed older teen. "This is nowhere near as bad as the time Yami blew up the second microwave."

Kaiba didn't seem to believe that Yugi was alright, but he let the topic drop. The little King of Games was bandaged and safe, so that would suffice for him (if not for Yugi's over protective yami).

"Speaking of Yami," Kaiba asked quietly, intense sapphire eyes boring into wide amethyst orbs, "Has he figured it out yet?"

Yugi sighed and rested his head on Kaiba's shoulder. "No," he admitted sadly. "And I don't think he ever will."

Yami had seen enough. Pulling back to his own mind, the former pharaoh was vaguely aware that he was alone in the living room. Tristan, Bakura, and Ryou must have left some time earlier. Well, that was fine by Yami. He needed time to be alone and mourn.

Up in his room, Yami quietly freaked out. The former pharaoh was curled up on his seldom used bed, crying silent tears. He couldn't bring himself to make any noise to disturb the silent melancholy he had layered upon the house like a shroud. Yugi was with Kaiba. KAIBA, of all people. Yami felt beyond hurt; he felt betrayed, and some how he felt like there was a physical injury some where in his chest. It was like there was a gaping, festering wound that was eating away at his heart and soul. Well, Yami's half of the soul anyway.

-  
>Yami felt a fresh round of tears roll down his cheeks as he looked around the room. Even though it was his room, Yami never spent much time in it. There was nothing personal in the room to give an insight to the kind of person who lived there. All of his clothes, though they had originated in his room, had migrated to Yugi's closet because they wore the same clothes and were the same size. Seeing as he had only had his own body for about a year and a half, Yami didn't have any nick-knacks to clutter up the desk; the few things he did have were placed on Yugi's shelves. The pharaoh never even slept in his own room; he curled up on a pallet on the floor in his hikari's room so that they could talk until they fell asleep, just as they had when he was a spirit.<p>

Yugi had been Yami's entire life for years. Everything that Yami had ever done had Yugi at the center: every duel, every adventure, every stupid school test. Yugi was his best friend and in Yami's mind, Yugi had betrayed him.

There was no reason for Yugi to have hidden his relationship from his darkness. Yami wasn't going to prevent Yugi from dating and having a life, so long as he was included in it. Sure, there was that odd feeling that wouldn't leave him alone whenever he saw Yugi and Kaiba together-but Yami was certain he could learn to overcome that for Yugi. He had given up the afterlife of a pharaoh for Yugi; if that didn't prove Yami's utter devotion to his best friend, then nothing could. And Yugi seemed to think that Yami couldn't put aside a few little things like hatred and rivalry for his happiness? That, Yami decided despondently, was the worst part of all.

For the first time in his five thousand years, Yami cried himself to sleep.

When the pharaoh awoke, he noticed dimly that he was not alone. There was a smaller figure curled up next to him with its arms wrapped around his waist. Yami immediately knew that it was Yugi, not only because he was the only other one in the house at the time (Grandpa was on a dig in Egypt), but because Yami felt the gentle warmth of a late spring day in his mind. Yugi's presence always made the pharaoh feel complete. The two halves of their soul were together.

"Nrghmmmmmm," Yugi hummed sleepily as he woke up. He turned his blinking crystal eyes up at Yami and smiled lazily. "Good morning."

"Good morning, aibou," he murmured, because that's what he did every morning. Yami still hadn't figured out what he was going to do about the Yugi/Kaiba situation, but with Yugi next to him he felt like everything might actually work out okay. "Did you sleep well?"

"Umhm," Yugi replied, closing his eyes and snuggling closer to Yami. "I couldn't find you at first. I looked all over the house. You weren't in the living room, or the kitchen, or our room. I only found you after using the link. No one ever comes in here, so I didn't think that-Oh!" Yugi exclaimed, cutting himself off. He sprang up right and grasped Yami's hand tightly in his two tiny ones. "I'm sorry Yami! Did you want to not stay in my room anymore? I've always thought of it as 'our room', but if you want to-"

"Yugi," the pharaoh interrupted in exasperation. "I came in here to think. I must have fallen asleep. And I do not mind sharing a room with you." If that was what Yugi wanted, then it was what Yugi would have.

As he stared down at his hikari, a thought wormed its way into Yami's head. He had tried to block it out last night, hedging around it to spare himself further pain, but now it forced itself into the forefront of his mind, demanding to be heard. If Yugi and Kaiba stayed together, Yami would be left all alone. Kaiba would want Yugi to come live in the mansion with him. Yugi, if he loved Kaiba (Yami shuddered at the thought), would want to be with him. The arrogant billionaire would never allow Yami to enter the mansion, let alone live in it. There would be no more sharing a room, no more midnight conversations, no more 'cuddling', no more reason for Yami to exist. The yami would lose his hikari.

"Aibou," he whispered, pulling Yugi onto his lap and holding him tightly. He rested his chin atop Yugi's head and let one solitary tear roll down his cheek.

Yugi was oblivious to the torment that his darkness was going through. He buried his head in Yami's neck and made a happy sound. Through the link Yami could sense how happy and safe Yugi felt in his arms, and all he could do was hope Yugi felt the same when Kaiba held him. Kaiba didn't deserve him, but Yugi deserved to always be happy and safe. It was a compromise of sorts that the pharaoh had come to.

"Come on, let's get ready for school," Yugi said, pulling Yami to his feet.

-  
>Yami was proud of himself. He had survived the last week of school and passed all of the silly finals that Yugi was so worried about (and he only had to cheat off of Yugi a little bit). Now that he was aware of the YugiKaiba Situation- as he liked to refer to it- he realized that he did indeed touch Yugi far too often. It was a sacrifice on his part, but Yami refrained from touching Yugi at all the last week of school. No wonder Joey had thought they were cuddling all the time. Besides, if he didn't stop touching Yugi then Kaiba would eventually confront him about it, and that would probably be the most awkward conversation Yami could ever have. The King of Games hadn't figured out how to prevent Yugi from crawling into bed with him, but baby steps would make the transition easier.

It was painful. Separating himself from Yugi felt like ripping a layer of skin off and then pouring salt on the wound. And that gaping hole in his chest kept throbbing and he had a constant headache, but other than that everything was- well, it was excruciating.

The fist day of summer break dawned bright and hot. It was far too hot for any rational high school student to bother going outside. Seeing as Grandpa was still at his dig, Yami and Yugi spent the day in the shop with the air conditioner on high. There were no customers, Yami assumed, because they had all melted. It was the only rational explanation, he thought as they closed up.

"Yugi, I think everyone else in the world melted," he commented as Yugi swept.

"Yami, that's impossible," Yugi replied, laughing. He didn't even bother to look up from his task.

Brows furrowed (Yugi knew that he didn't like being ignored), Yami continued, "No it's not. I've seen it twice."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. Once on that stupid movie you made me watch so I could understand pop culture or some such none sense. The Wizard of Odd, I think is what you called it-"

"The Wizard of Oz, Yami," Yugi corrected.

"Don't interrupt," Yami snapped half heartedly. Yugi chuckled and put the broom away behind the closet door. Hopping up on the counter in front of his Yami, Yugi sat patiently waiting for the rest of his ridiculous explanation. "The ugly lady in black with the unhealthy complexion. When the girl threw water on her, she melted."

"That was a movie, Yami," Yugi reminded him. "It never really happened."

"It's still a precedent. And then there was also the time I had a man melted when I was Pharaoh," he continued undaunted. He had never told Yugi this story; Yami hoped that Yugi would find it as funny as he did.

Yugi looked horrified. "You melted someone?" he demanded, jaw dropped. "But why? How?"

"He had stolen the Millennium Puzzle," the pharaoh said shortly. That was the only part of the story that Yami didn't like. "When the guards caught him, they brought him before me. Unfortunately for the thief, I had been talking with Seth at the time. Seth thought it would be a good idea to have him put into this gaping hole we had had found in the desert. So Seth and I, along with a guard or two, rode out into the desert with our captive. The hole was smoking and filled with a weird looking liquid. The guards dropped him in, and he sunk. Seth pulled out a really big stick and stuck it in the hole to see what happened. When he pulled the stick out, it was half gone. The stuff in the hole had dissolved the stick and the thief.

"And that, my dear hikari, just goes to prove my point. People can indeed melt," Yami finished with a grand bow.

Yugi's eyes were as wide as saucers. "You melted a person?" he demanded, hopping off the counter to glare up at Yami.

"Well," Yami shifted uncomfortably, "It was Seth's idea." Yugi's glare didn't falter. "It was a long time ago! I didn't have you're opinion to worry about. My actions had no consequences."

Yugi chuckled and leaned forward to embrace his darkness. Yami jump deftly out of the way. "Do you know what else melts? Ice-cream. Why don't we go get some ice cream?" he suggested heading toward the door.

Yami knew that Yugi would never say no to ice-cream. It was the best distraction tool in the world when one had to deal with Yugi.

"All right," Yugi agreed. If Yugi happened to look a little hurt about the refused hug, or suspicious about the ice cream, Yami didn't notice. The two duelists headed out the door in search of their frozen dairy treat.

-  
>"Yami, this is why I can never take you anywhere," Yugi grumbled as he wiped ice cream and chocolate syrup off of his soul partner's hair. There was ice cream all over Yami; it dripped from his hair down to a lovely smear across his chest, running in creamy lines down his leather pants to pool around his feet in a sticky mess. "You don't even like ice cream."<p>

"And this is precisely why," he declared proudly. The King of Games was currently seated on a bench in the park. Thankfully, no one was around to see his utter humiliation; even though twilight had descended upon Domino City, it was still too hot for any sane person to venture outside. "Sticky, messy, slimy sludge on a cone. I don't know how you can bear to eat it."

Shaking his head fondly, Yugi continued to clean off his friend. It was the hair he was the most worried about (the clothes were beyond help); seeing as they had the same hair, Yugi knew how difficult it would be for Yami to get the dripping dairy rinsed out of his asterisk shaped bouffant.

A dribble of ice-cream slithered down from Yami's hair onto his cheek. Rather than wiping it off with one of the many paper towels Yugi had on hand, the younger teen reached out a finger and wiped it off. Bringing the finger up to his mouth, Yugi proceeded to lick the ice cream off, eyes closed in pure bliss.

Yami watched, completely entranced. Yugi's thoughts slipped through the bond that the pharaoh had clamped shut for the past week. _Mmmmmmnnnnmm,_ Yugi moaned through the bond as he continued to suck on his finger, sliding it in and out of his mouth. If it had been anyone but his pure hikari, Yami would have thought that the gesture was provocatively directed at him. Yami felt his cheeks flame up with an impressive blush. Somewhere in his lower belly, a tight ball of something he didn't want to name condensed. Clearly, Yami thought as he tried to clear his mind, Yugi had a…**thing** for ice cream.

"Well Yugi," a cold voice floated from behind them, "Seems like you can't keep your pharaoh in line. What a mess."

Yami turned to glare at Kaiba. When he was Pharaoh of Egypt, his glare had sent people into cardiac arrest. As a child, he had manipulated and terrorized his nurses with the glare. Once he met Yugi, his glare had been wielded for good, signaling the end for more villains than Yami cared to remember. It was a look that could cut anyone to the quick, his crimson eyes shining with an intense hatred that was as hot as lava.

Unfortunately, Kaiba could match him with a look that was as cold as ice.

"Seto!" Yugi squeaked, pulling the finger out of his mouth with a 'pop'. He looked up at his tall boyfriend sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"

"Mokuba wanted ice cream." Yami watched as Kaiba's icy stare melted as soon as the arrogant billionaire turned his gaze to Yugi rather than Yami. Seeing as Yami couldn't hate Kaiba any more if he tried (well, not without having Yugi's intense disapproval anyway), he could be gracious and agree that Yugi was enough to make anyone smile.

Yami wasn't in a mood to be too gracious though. The gaping wound in his chest that Yugi had unintentionally caused still throbbed when he saw Yugi and Kaiba within three-hundred feet of each other. "Yugi, I'm going to go home and change," he declared with something resembling calm.

Before Yugi could object, Yami had walked away. In all of his years, Yami could not recall having run away from anything. As he walked back toward the game shop, his throat closed up with unshed tears and a healthy dose of hatred, the pharaoh tried to convince himself that he didn't look like a kicked dog with his tail between his legs.

-  
>Once again, Yami found himself in the empty room that everyone referred to as his bedroom. Curled up on the bed, he wallowed in the self pity he had become accustomed to over the past week. It was easy enough to be normal with Yugi when they were alone; all Yami had to do was remember how he acted before he had a body, aka completely focused on Yugi. Sure, they couldn't interact quite like yami and hikari were supposed to, but if Yami had to sacrifice the comfort of Yugi's touch in order for Yugi to be happy he would. Yugi's wants, needs, and whims had always come first. They always would.<p>

"Mou hitori no boku?" Yami heard Yugi call tentatively from downstairs. Yugi had gradually stopped calling him by that name years ago as he got to know the pharaoh better. "Where are you?"

Yami decided that if he kept very quiet and pretended to sleep, Yugi wouldn't notice him.

_Mou hitori no boku_, Yugi called through the link, his voice becoming much more commanding. _I know that you're here. I can sense you. And no, you can't pretend to be asleep, because I know you're up in the spare room. Please come to our bedroom, I really need to talk to you about something important._

Willingly bent to the will of his hikari, Yami trudged down the hall to Yugi's room. If he was lucky, Yugi would tell him that he was dating Kaiba. Then Yami would cut him off and say that he already knew and go back to wallowing in misery without interruption. Also, he would concentrate on keeping the link more tightly shut. Yugi had become quite adept at exploiting it.

Yami slipped inside and quietly made his way to the pallet on the floor where he slept. Yugi was on his bed and staring at his darkness intently. Firmly keeping his eyes on anything but Yugi, Yami asked, "Was there something you needed to talk about, aibou?"

_Yami, you've been acting really weird lately,_ Yugi began slowly. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them close before continuing. _It's like you've got some strange notion in your head that you aren't supposed to touch me, or hang around me when we're not home, or use the mind link!_

"Of course I'm not supposed to do any of that!" Yami retorted hotly. Honestly, how did Yugi think relationships worked? Kaiba would most certainly not want Yami interacting with Yugi in their usual manner. Relationships were full of compromises, but Yami would be willing to bet his deck that Kaiba wouldn't consent to Yami having intimate knowledge of his boyfriend's mind.

_Where did you pull that from?_ Yugi demanded, sitting up on his knees and glaring down at Yami. The two had never gotten into a serious fight, but it seemed that the six and a half year honey moon was over. Yugi's glare wasn't as impressive as Yami's, but it still made the pharaoh want to curl up and cry. After Yami had been granted his own body, Yugi had gone through a growth spurt; the little light looked almost exactly like his darkness in every way except eye color and height. Of course his glare would grow to be as fierce as his original incarnation's.

"Stop speaking through the mind link," Yami snapped, rubbing his temples. He had a headache coming on from the mental pounding Yugi was giving him while attempting to break through his mental defense. He was surprised to note that unless he could stop Yugi quickly, his barriers would soon fall.

_Oh, now you resent the bond?_

"I know, okay?" Yami burst angrily, flopping back and covering his face with his arm. "I finally figured it out. I'm sorry that it took so long and that I'm so pathetically stupid. You and Kaiba can have a good laugh about it now, I suppose."

_You know?_ Yugi's voice was very quiet. _And you're not happy?_

"Why in Ra's name would I be?" Yami growled.

A sob ripped its way out of Yugi's throat. Yami sat up slowly to scowl at his hikari- though it took all of his willpower. _It's been such a long time coming, and I didn't want to scare you with how intense it is. I thought-I thought you'd be as in love with the idea as I am…_ Yugi cried as he curled up into a ball on his side, still staring at Yami through teary eyes.

Yami laughed coldly. "In love with the idea?" he mocked. Yami hadn't been this hateful to anyone since Pegasus during Duelist Kingdom. "Never, not even in another thousand years.

"I didn't want to believe it at first. Bakura had meant to distress me by mentioning it. Well he succeeded, Ammut take the bastard's heart. I slipped into your mind without you noticing and saw that it was true. It's been tearing me apart, but I had no idea how to broach such a topic with you. You, who are closer to me than any other being could be, past, present, or future."

_That's why you wanted to stay in the spare room? Why you've been avoiding my touch?_ Yugi's mental voice couldn't sniffle, though his physical body was. _Oh Yami, I wish you would have said something. I feel terrible._ A fresh round of tears tumbled from his amethyst eyes.

"Of course you feel terrible," Yami agreed. "I would too if I was dating Seto Kaiba. But if that is what makes you happy, aibou, I will learn to live with this pain."

_WHAT?_ Yugi squeaked, falling off of his bed and onto Yami's pallet.

"I saw you two- what did Joey accuse us of? Ah yes. 'Cuddling' after he bandaged your hand from making cookies with Mokuba. I finally understand why he insists you call him Seto, and I can't really fault him considering the circumstances," Yami explained dryly, though he was still angry.

_Yami,_ the lighter King of Games began, his body shaking even though he had stopped crying, _I'm not dating Seto Kaiba._ Was Yugi laughing?

Yami snorted derisively. "Of course you ar-mrff?"

Quick as a snake, Yugi reached up from his position sprawled on the pallet and dragged Yami's mouth down to his own.

Yami's first instinct was to melt like ice cream on hot asphalt. Yugi, _his_ hikari, was kissing him and there was a wonderfully languid heat in all of his muscles that made him want to lean back and let Yugi kiss him until the world crumbled around them. Then Yugi's little pink tongue darted out to caress his lower lip, and Yami made a noise that he had never thought to hear from his own throat, but that was okay because it was Yugi who drew it out of him. Opening his mouth, all Yami could do was moan as Yugi practically mouth fucked him, thrusting his tongue in and out, tasting and feeling and _possessing _his darker half in such a way that Yami accidentally released his mental barriers.

And suddenly Yugi was in his mind as well as in his mouth. Yami could feel what Yugi was feeling, his own tongue and mouth and taste as Yugi claimed him. That was too much for the pharaoh and he let out a keening whine that made Yugi moan in response and grab a handful of Yami's tricolored locks. He reversed their positions somehow, without breaking the kiss, and was holding Yami's head still so he could stick his tongue far enough back to lick his pharaoh's tonsils. Yami found that he really _**really**_ liked that.

Finally, Yami's lungs felt like they were going to collapse. With an immense effort, he pulled back out of Yugi's iron grasp. As he lay panting, Yugi clamored on top of him to nip at the pulse on his neck. "That -pant- was-" he tried, but Yugi began sucking on his earlobe so his thoughts scattered. "What was that, aibou?"

Sitting up to straddle his perfectly plundered darkness' chest, Yugi practically purred at the sight beneath him. Yami was embarrassed to notice that he had gotten hard sometime during their activity. He nudged Yugi off of him so that he wouldn't accidentally discover it, though by his smirk he already did.

"I'm not dating Seto, Yami," Yugi said, a bright grin plastered across his face.

"Of course you are. I saw it."

Yugi shook his head fondly as he grasped Yami's hand tightly in both of his own tiny ones. "Yami, you and I have been dating for the last three and a half years," he explained slowly grinning.

Yami's mind, which was functioning on the bare minimum required to be considered a sentient being, fizzled out. He had been doing what? Surely he would have noticed that…

"But aibou," Yami gasped as he gaped at his young friend turned lover, "I didn't have a body until a little over year ago!"

Yugi nodded. "I know. Trust me, I know," he replied rolling his eyes. Apparently there had been some concern about that amongst their friends. "But it never occurred to you that we share a room, and sleep together, and pretty much never stop touching each other? Even before you had a physical body, you would hold me until I fell asleep. And after the Battle City Tournament you wouldn't stop touching me. Playing with my hair, holding my hand, embracing me whenever I stood still for more than a minute… After a while, I realized that you didn't know what you were doing. You really didn't know what was going on. So I waited, and waited, and waited. You're brilliant, mou hitori no boku, so I knew you'd figure it out eventually. I was happy enough to continue on as we had always done, no matter how badly I wanted to kiss you." _Among other things_, Yugi murmured seductively into Yami's head.

"I never even considered such a thing," Yami muttered. NOW Bakura's little exposition with Ryou made sense. He was implying that Yami and Yugi should have a more intimate yami/hikari relationship.

"Does it bother you?" Yugi asked, suddenly concerned. He loved Yami so completely from the beginning that the thought of being with him didn't faze the lighter King of Games.

_Of course not, aibou. I merely needed a moment to come to terms with the fact that I am an idiot, you are undeniably desirable, and that I have probably caused you more pain than you deserve. Forgive me?_ the pharaoh asked gently, pulling his new found lover of three years into his lap.

When Yugi heard that deep voice in his head, he laughed aloud with relief. He had missed the cool, velvety presence of Yami at the back of his mind. _Of course!_ Yugi squealed, giving his boyfriend a peck on the lips. He felt Yami's vague displeasure at the term 'boyfriend', preferring 'lover'. Yugi didn't deign to acknowledge the free flowing thoughts between them, at least if they were going to be over miniscule things like terminology. _I have to ask, though. Why did you think I was dating Seto?_

Now that their minds were melded once more (had it truly been a mere week?), Yami felt the difference between Yugi's thought of him (possessive, all-consuming, dominating, and shiver producing) and his thoughts of Kaiba. Sometime when Yami wasn't paying attention, Kaiba had taken Yugi under his wing like a second little brother. A self depreciating smile flitted across Yami's face; how had he not noticed the difference before?

_I told you. I saw you two after he bandaged your hand,_ Yami explained. Briefly, he let the images from his perspective float over to Yugi, along with the conversation with Bakura that had come just before everything went to hell in a hand basket.

_Oh,_ was all Yugi could say. _Well, if you had realized that we are in love earlier, mou hitori no boku, then that wouldn't have been a problem._

_Hn,_ Yami snorted. Suddenly, he pulled Yugi onto his lap. A mischievous glint in his crimson eyes made Yugi squirm agreeably. _We could play the blame game. Or we could just play._

Once again, his lips were on his soul mate's. Yami had hoped to hold his own this time, but all he could do was hold onto Yugi and be buoyed by the sensations of being limp and warm and _owned_. Yugi chuckled into his mind. _It's going to take a while before you can do anything but let me play with you, pharaoh. A yami is like putty in his hikari's hands._

Yami couldn't muster up the will to disagree, especially when Yugi started sucking on his lower lip and making the same noise as when he was licking ice cream off of his finger. _Oh, did you like that?_ Yugi asked, catching the thought.

Yugi broke away from the kiss. "You're so cute when your face flushed like this," Yugi giggled, kissing the tip of Yami's nose.

_How did I not realize how much I want you?_ Yami murmured, stroking Yugi's cheek gently with his thumb.

Yugi grinned and tugged the t-shirt Yami was wearing over his head. He stroked the lightly defined muscles and creamy white skin reverently as he pushed Yami onto his back. It had been a long time coming, in Yugi's opinion, and he intended to have Yami transformed into a quivering mass of moans by the time he was done.

Lowering his cute pink lips, Yugi took Yami's left nipple into his mouth. Rolling the little bud around the tip of his tongue like a piece of candy, Yugi reveled in the breathy little noises his darkness was making. Having sufficiently tasted the left teat, Yugi leaned back to blow on it. Proud of his handiwork, he turned his attention to the other, sucking, licking and gently biting until both tits were standing pert.

Yami moaned. He was disastrously hard and Yugi hadn't done anything really done anything to make him that way. _Yugi,_ he groaned through the link. _I need more._ A futile upward thrust of his hips accompanied his plea.

_What kind of more?_ Yugi teased. A hand ghosted its way down to the rigid mound of flesh encased in leather that way causing his darkness such _distress_ and proceeded to tap in a light staccato rhythm. _Like this?_

_No,_ Yami retorted. _Like this!_ He thrust the memory of Yugi sucking the ice-cream off of his finger from earlier that day into his hikari's mind.

Yugi stopped his teasing hand and considered the plea. _Hmm. I didn't realize how provocative that looked,_ he mused, idly drawing patterns on Yami's chest. _But I don't think you realize how over stimulated you are to my touch right now, Yami. You wouldn't last very long._

Yami thrust upward again, arching wantonly. "_I don't care!_" he cried with mind and voice. _Please, mou hitori no ore, touch me!_

The teasing had gone on long enough. With deft fingers, Yugi unbuttoned Yami's tight leather pants and tugged them down unceremoniously. Immediately his darker half's erection sprang up, bouncing against his stomach. Yugi licked his lips and stared at it, his amethyst eyes darkening with lust; it was the first evidence that Yami had seen to show that he was not the only one affected by their activities.

Sliding down the other's body, Yugi looked critically at the quivering mass of desire before him. Seeming to come to a decision, he gently dragged his tongue up the length, pausing to kiss the head. Stars burst in Yami's vision. The thin barrier that they had up to keep them separate people blurred, then vanished. They were one person in two bodies, and neither knew whose mouth was on which cock.

There was no slow build of pressure and pleasure. Yami felt an orgasm rip and tear through him, followed shortly by another that left both yami and hikari reeling and exhausted.

They lay there on the pallet on the floor of their room for several minutes, absolutely exhausted. The unholy desire that had burned through Yami like hellfire was finally sated. Yugi's cheek rested on his lover's exposed hip bone as he panted. He hadn't expected Yami to lose control over the barrier that separated them; he had expected Yami's pleasure to be that extreme, but the innocent hikari didn't realize that it could spill over to him if they weren't careful. The sticky mess cooling in his pants was a good reason for them to stick to shower sex for a while, at least until Yami was desensitized.

"Yugi, why am I so sensitive to your touch?" Yami asked when he finally caught his breath. "This has never happened in the six years that we've known each other."

Crawling up his lover's body, Yugi collapsed once more and rested his head on Yami's shoulder. "I'm not entirely sure why it happens," he admitted, toying with his darkness' sweaty bangs. "Malik, Ryou and I have talked about it a lot. As far as we can figure out, it only happens when we, the hikaris, have sexual intentions behind our touches toward our respective yamis."

"And how long will this last?"

"Well, Ryou and Bakura said that it became less intense about a month after they started," Yugi admitted. "Up until then, all Bakura could do was lie there and take it while Ryou tormented him."

If there was ever a mental image that Yami did not need, it was Ryou and Bakura in bed together. "So for the next month?" he asked hesitantly, flipping to his side so that he and Yugi could look at each other.

"You are my sex toy," Yugi affirmed. His determination was so adorable. Of course, as soon as Yami thought that, the expression faltered. "Yami, I know that you like being the dominant one usually, and I'm sorry that things are like this."

Chuckling, Yami pulled Yugi into another kiss. As expected, it was exactly like the previous ones. Yami ended up on his back again with Yugi licking his gums and growling possessively while the pharaoh whimpered and moaned like a cheap whore. Perhaps whatever made the yamis so submissive also made the hikaris more (_**much**_ more, he amended as Yugi nipped his lower lip until it bled) dominant.

They broke apart, and Yami grinned. "Care to dominate me, my light?" he purred.

Amethyst orbs smoldered as Yugi raked his fingers down the Darker King of Games' chest, feeling the muscles twitch. "Mmmmmm," he hummed. "Sounds like a plan. But Yami?"

"Yes, koi?"

"Can we take a shower first?"

-  
>Yami fidgeted slightly against the tree he was leaning on. It was the first Tuesday after school had let out, and the heat wave had finally decided to give the citizens of Domino a brief respite. Yami and Yugi were waiting to meet the gang. Even the knowledge that they had been dating for years (though he hadn't known it) wasn't enough to calm Yami's frazzled nerves. He was so concerned that Yugi finally had to turn around in his arms and glare.<p>

"I know what will occupy your mind until they get here," the hikari declared, pulling his taller lover's lips down to meet his own.

The melting feeling that Yami experienced whenever Yugi touched him had finally become familiar. _Well, at least you didn't climax the moment our lips touched. This time, anyway_, Yugi commented mirthfully as they kissed. It had been an…intense few days for Yami. He was sore in places he didn't know existed and had embarrassed himself at least half a dozen times under the influence of Yugi's touch.

_Shut up and kiss me_, Yami growled with a heavy blush, attempting a fight for dominance with Yugi that he quickly lost.

The sound of someone clearing their throat eventually pierced the pharaoh's hazy brain. One of Yugi's arms, which had twined around his love's neck, detached briefly to make a 'wait a moment, I'm kissing the other half of my soul' gesture.

Finally, Yugi pulled away, but not without latching onto Yami's lower lip with his teeth and drawing it out until Yami moaned. Having heard his prize, Yugi opened his eyes to stare at the crowd of friends that had gathered. Yami, dazed with pleasure, wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist and pulled him close. Absently, Yugi reached up and stroked his cheek.

The group stared at the two lovers, awkward and blushing. Kaiba was the first to find his voice. "Well," he said with a cough, trying to convince himself that the scene had not been better than most porn he had watched, "I guess he figured it out."

-  
>AN: Hope you liked it! Reviews are welcomed, needed, and appreciated!

Also, I'm considering doing an alternate ending that ends up as a YugixYamixKaiba threesome. This one would have a lemon and end much differently (though still with a happy ending, because I'm a sap). Thoughts on that idea?


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